Catlike
by Orcux
Summary: "You're both like cats- following anyone and everyone who gives you food." Marui x Ryoma
1. Chapter 1

And here's the new story I was working on! I don't think this pair has many fans, and I can't really blame anyone because these two characters barely interacted in canon (or did they? I actually can't remember!), but I hope you'll read this with an open mind. Haha!

...And damn, I wanted to put a dash in the middle of the word Cat and Like in the title, but it wouldn't work! Guess I'll have to make do with this.

**Pairing: Marui x Ryoma**

**Warnings: Well... the characters may seem rather OOC later on in the story. I sincerely hope it won't happen to me, though.**  
**Summary: "You're both like cats- following anyone and everyone who gives you food." Marui x Ryoma**

* * *

**Cat-Like**

"Oi, Echizen!" Momoshiro's cheerful and overly-loud voice rang out as he banged on the lockers to catch Ryoma's attention.

Ryoma flinched slightly from the loud noise and looked up, annoyance written all over his face. He slipped his racket into his tennis bag, ready to make a snarky remark about how Momoshiro voice was likely to scare away even Tachibana Ann, the girl of his dreams, when Momoshiro's next sentence stopped him in his tracks.

"Kawamura-senpai says that he's treating us to another round of sushi at his place!"

"Oh?" This changed things. Ryoma had never been one to turn down a good meal of sushi.

"Let's go then." In a flash, he had tugged his tennis bag over a shoulder, and slipped past Momoshiro out of the locker room.

"What…" Momoshiro started, his eyes widening as he whipped around to see the team rookie smirking playfully at him. "Wait for me, Echizen!"

"Mada mada dane."

* * *

Ryoma sighed.

On his left, Momoshiro fought with Kaidoh over the last salmon sushi left on the plate, the both of them squabbling noisily and incoherently. Momoshiro had stolen most of his sushi while he wasn't looking, and Ryoma still held a small grudge against him, so he directed insults to him under his breath.

There was no response- he was probably too busy fighting with Kaidoh to care about anything else.

Sighing, Ryoma slid off the chair and headed over to a quieter corner of the sushi bar, unnoticed. Slipping into a chair away from the noise the Seigaku regulars were creating, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes, readying himself for a good nap.

"…and then Sanada-fukubuchou told me that if I didn't shut up, he'd make me run a hundred laps around the court!"

Ryoma's eyes snapped open and he gazed around in annoyance. He knew that voice. If he remembered right, it was… Kirihara Akaya, the second year rookie of the Rikkaidai team. _Though he's a year older than me and way weaker_, he thought, smirking to himself. He briefly wondered what Kirihara was doing in the sushi bar, when another voice spoke up.

"Hey, who wants another plate of sushi?" A deeper accented voice spoke up, followed by an enthusiastic agreement from Kirihara.

Ryoma gulped. He was suddenly starting to feel hungry again, the memory of Momoshiro stealing his sushi still embedded in his mind.

"Jackal, three more plates for me!" A light, musical voice called out teasingly.

"Bunta, don't eat so much, you'll get fat." Jackal replied, sighing. The sound of a chair screeching against the floor sounded as he got up to order the sushi. The sound of footsteps neared Ryoma, and he looked up to see the tan player staring at him. "Oh? If it isn't the Seigaku rookie player…"

* * *

**And here's the insanely short first chapter. Don't worry, it's the shortest chapter I've ever written too; I just thought it would be appropriate to cut it off here, because the next chapter should ****be longer. Hopefully. :D**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter!

Thank you to **EmeraldRain25**, **100thAngel** and **Kistunefighter12** for reviewing! :D I feel so relieved that I'm not alone in loving this pairing! ^^

* * *

"Bunta, don't eat so much, you'll get fat." Jackal replied, sighing. The sound of a chair screeching against the floor sounded as he got up to order the sushi. The sound of footsteps neared Ryoma, and he looked up to see the tan player staring at him. "Oh? If it isn't the Seigaku rookie player…"

* * *

Ryoma let a smirk grace his face. "If it isn't Rikkaidai's Iron Wall of Defense."

Jackal looked slightly amused. "Yeah, that." A slight frown marred his face, and he gestured to the Seigaku regulars who were seated just a few meters away from Ryoma.

"Why aren't you with your team?" His tone was lightly curious, suggesting that he didn't particularly want to intrude on Ryoma's privacy, but Ryoma decided to answer anyway.

"Too noisy," he replied shortly, and Jackal's expression cleared in understanding, a friendly smile easing back into his face.

"Well, why don't you join us at our table then? I'm sure Kirihara'd love to see you." Jackal rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He's been talking about you nonstop ever since you defeated him."

A cocky smile crept on Ryoma's face, and he lowered his cap down to cover his eyes. "Only if you treat me."

"Ugh! You and Bunta are the same…" Jackal waved his arms wildly, in mock frustration. "Fine, fine…"

Smirking triumphantly, Ryoma made his way towards the Rikkaidai table, sliding into one of their seats. It took a mere three seconds before Kirihara jumped up in horror, his chair screeching against the floor noisily.

"It's you! Echizen!" Kirihara yelled, making him flinch from the loud noise. _He's just as bad as Momo-senpai…_ Ryoma sighed, wondering if sitting down at the table was a bad idea after all.

"Eh, it's Echizen!" The pink-haired teen sitting opposite of Ryoma exclaimed in surprise. Ryoma immediately recognized him as Marui Bunta. His light amethyst eyes glanced up to meet Ryoma's golden ones. "What're you doing here?"

Ryoma slid his cap lower down to cover his eyes, not very pleased with the attention he was getting. "Kuwahara-san invited me," he stated shortly, deciding to pin the blame on the teen.

Marui raised an eyebrow. "Jackal did?" He shrugged, and popped a piece of bubblegum into his mouth as he waited for Jackal to return.

Ryoma nodded, staring at the bubbles Marui blew with rapt fascination. "I think he's regretting it now though," he murmured, making Marui glance at him in surprise. "I'm making him treat me to sushi," he explained, a playful smirk making its way onto his lips.

Marui laughed, his musical voice sending weird tingles down Ryoma's spine. "Yeah, I know! I only tag along when he treats me too!"

Ryoma opened his mouth to reply, when a low voice intervened. "Speaking badly of me, eh? I should have known…"

Marui jumped, his amethyst eyes widening by a fraction. "J-Jackal! I didn't speak badly of you at all! R-Right, Echizen?" He turned to look at Ryoma, who was too busy staring at the plates of sushi laid in front of him, and had barely registered the question.

"Mm…" Ryoma mumbled absentmindedly as he reached for a plate of sushi and devoured it immediately. Realizing that Ryoma had already begun to eat, Marui hopped into his seat again, postponing his apology session with Jackal in lieu of grabbing a plate of sushi as well, before it was all eaten up by the hungry Seigaku rookie.

Jackal gave a long suffering sigh, and after sharing a look with Kirihara, who was watching their exchange with an amused expression on his face, he sat down and dug in as well.

* * *

Ryoma sank down in his seat, enjoying the comfortable sort of warmth the sushi gave him. Opposite him, Marui did the same thing, and the both of them yawned simultaneously.

"Now that I've eaten, I feel sleepy," Marui commented, stretching slightly.

"'Same here," Ryoma murmured, rubbing sleepy tears from his eyes.

Jackal raised an eyebrow, and stared at them with a weird expression on his face. Ryoma was the first to react, a small frown on his face.

"What?" He asked suspiciously, looking slightly disturbed at the fact that Jackal was staring at them without saying a word.

Jackal chuckled and shook his head. "I just thought that the both of you were kind of similar to each other…"

"Huh? How?" Marui asked, perplexed, as he chewed on another piece of bubblegum.

Jackal scratched his head and shrugged. "Uh… I suppose it's because of your behaviorisms-"

"I don't chew on bubblegum," Ryoma supplied helpfully.

"-sort of like the way you two are… cat-like…" Jackal continued, ignoring Ryoma's previous comment.

"Cat-like?" Marui had to raise a brow at that. He pondered over the statement for a moment before frowning. "That's the first time I've heard of that description."

"Well you see, you two would follow anyone who gave you food –which is frankly quite worrying- and you get sleepy right after you eat!" Jackal explained rather matter-of-factly.

Ryoma gave a small yawn right on cue, and Jackal nodded triumphantly, pointing at him as if to say "What did I tell you?"

Ryoma glared at him, still sore about being ignored, and folded his arms, mulling over the thought. _Cat-like, eh…_ he thought to himself, being reminded of Karupin. He allowed a small smile to slide onto his face. Maybe it wasn't so bad.

"Ah, Echizen looks happy!" Marui pointed out, grinning.

Jackal raised an eyebrow.

"So do you, Bunta."

* * *

**And thus, the simple truth of the story title was revealed right away, in Chapter Two. Not to mention that it has a pretty bad reason behind the whole thing. Still, doesn't the thought of Ryoma and Marui as cats make you feel all bubbly inside?... Maybe it's just me being delusional though, haha!**

Sorry if you're disappointed-the action will come along pretty soon though, I reckon. :)

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to **Tiger723, 100thAngel, EmeraldRain25, Lone-Wolf-Kai, Namikaze Naruto Tenma no ouji, Soul Vrazy **and **sakurablossoms** for reviewing! :D You guys rock, really you do!

Picking up the pace in this chapter, and I'm not too sure about it. You'll see why I said this... well, after you read the chapter of course.

Well then, happy reading! :)

* * *

After the meeting with the Rikkaidai team (or at least half of them) in the sushi bar, Ryoma was showered with rebukes by a very annoyed Momoshiro- who had found Ryoma at the back of the sushi bar with Marui and the rest- about how he had abandoned the team to 'fraternize with the enemy'.

Momoshiro dragged Ryoma out of the sushi bar, casting the Rikkaidai members dirty glances as he did so, muttering under his breath about how Ryoma hadn't invited him along for 'free food', and how he might just let the matter slide if Ryoma treated him the next time they ate out.

Not that there was a chance of that happening.

Ryoma covertly used that as an excuse to ignore Kirihara's constant attempts to challenge him again. He didn't want to play against Kirihara again- it was honestly too much of a bother.

And it _hurt_.

That evening, when the Seigaku team left the Kawamura sushi bar, Ryoma had inadvertently formed a few unexpected bonds with the Rikkaidai members.

* * *

"Echizen!" Marui called out, jogging to catch up with Ryoma.

Ryoma, who was just about to place his money into the slot of the vending machine, turned around to see who was calling him.

A flash of pink hair darted into his vision, and Ryoma was greeted with a pair of brilliant, amethyst eyes. "Ah, it's you." Ryoma muttered, shifting the cap on his head absentmindedly.

"What do you mean by 'it's you'?" Marui pouted, crossing his arms. "I have a name, you know!" His eyes trailed to the coins Ryoma was holding, and the vending machine which rumbled gently beside him.

A mischievous smile tugged at his lips.

"Hey, Echizen," He lowered his voice conspiratorially as he leant in; making sure that only Ryoma could hear what he was saying. "Want to get more than your money's worth of canned drinks?"

Ryoma's eyebrow shot up his hairline. "What do you mean?"

Marui chuckled softly and stretched out his hand. "Trust me."

Annoyed, but feeling slightly curious, Ryoma placed his coins onto Marui's palm. "If you run off with my money, I'll kill you," Ryoma threatened.

At this, Marui let a small smirk grace his lips, similar to the one Ryoma wore on a daily basis. He chose not to respond, and slipped the coins into the vending machine coin slot. For a brief moment, his hand hovered uncertainly over the different drink selections.

"Grape Ponta," Ryoma supplied helpfully, and Marui selected it carefully.

A can of grape-flavored Ponta rolled onto the platform, which lowered itself down, readying itself to deposit the drink.

"Heh!"

Ryoma's eyes widened. With one swift motion, Marui bent down and jammed his hand into the opening of the hole, forcing the drink back into the machine. With a whirring sound, the drink rolled back where it sat on the platform forlornly.

There was a clatter, and the coins dropped into the coin slot. Marui chuckled at Ryoma's mystified expression.

"They automatically refund you when you don't get your drinks," Marui informed him, bending down and reaching out for the coins, rolling them into his palm. "And we'll make use of that misplaced kindness of theirs."

Before Ryoma could blink, Marui slipped the coins back into the coin slot and grinned.

"Hmm, what should I get?"

Ryoma glared. "When did I say I would treat you?"

Marui shook his head in mock sadness. "Too bad, I've already pressed it."

Ryoma swallowed his complains in lieu of watching the second canned drink fall from the shelf and onto the platform. His eyes widened with fascination, as the two cans rolled out into the drink slot.

Marui picked both of them up and tossed one to Ryoma, who caught it with unsteady hands.

Ryoma was still trying to process what had just happened. Did Marui really just trick the machine into giving both of the drinks for the price of one? How did he find out about such a nifty trick?

… Or rather, why did he even know about these things? Marui didn't come off as a vending machine fanatic to him…

"What's wrong?" Marui asked Ryoma, raising his eyebrows.

When Ryoma just looked bemused and shook his head, Marui shrugged.

He opened the lid of the canned drink effortlessly, and downed a quarter of its contents in one go. He licked his lips appreciatively. "Always wanted to try this, and it's actually not half bad."

Ryoma blinked.

Marui was holding a can of Ponta, a drink many of his fellow regulars had tried and rejected countless times.

And he just liked its taste.

Ryoma smiled- a sight which was rather rare in itself, and which the Rikkaidai player swore to never forget. The sunbeams shone down onto his face, illuminating his smile, the birds began to sing, and the cherry blossom trees began to bloom even as the summer sun shone down on them.

Marui's cheeks burned without his consent, and his heartbeat elevated seemingly without a reason. He could hardly hear the birds around them, all he could see and hear was Ryoma and his deliciously sweet voice, and the bright golden orbs which gazed at Marui's amethyst ones as he continued to stare.

And it was at that seemingly insignificant moment, where Marui realized that this feeling- the terrible feeling which was bitter yet sweet and filled with innocent yearning- was love.

* * *

**And... yep. Now you know why I said I picked up the pace. Don't think that Marui and Ryoma are going to have happy times together instantly! They have some hard times ahead. Still, you can bet that Marui's going to be looking at Ryoma through rose-tinted glasses from now on... if he had any. Haha!**

**Alright, till the next chapter!**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to **Soul Vrazy, ****Zwolftd, Chibi-chan,** **EmeraldRain25, ****PurpleScorpion, sakurablossoms **and** Namikaze Naruto Tenma no ouji **for your lovely reviews! :D You never fail to make me smile!

Alright, and of course dear Ryoma has to face some troubles sometime. This is one of those times! :(

Happy reading!

* * *

Ryoma tried to focus on his game with Momoshiro, but his mind was out of it.

Was it lunchtime yet? Was it time to be dismissed yet? When was tennis training going to end…?

The thoughts kept swirling inside his mind, and though he tried to rid himself of them, they returned, stronger than ever. For some reason which he couldn't phantom, he wanted to see the volley specialist from Rikkaidai again.

Ever since the Ponta incident the two weeks before, Marui had taken the initiative to invite him to lunch occasionally… on an increasingly frequent basis. Although he wondered why Marui would even bother to do so (Rikkaidai was really far away), Marui insisted that he overslept on the bus until the last stop, which happened to be Seigaku, and it just so happened that it was lunchtime every time he did so, where Ryoma was worn out and hungry and just wanted some food.

Ryoma wondered if he'd pull a Kirihara Akaya next. **(1)**

A ball sped past him, sending a cloud of dust right up at his face. Ryoma coughed wildly, trying to rid his lungs of the dirt, while Momoshiro's loud and greatly annoyed voice split his eardrums.

"Oi, Echizen! What are you spacing out for!" Momoshiro shouted angrily, rubbing his wrist from the force of his famed Dunk Smash. "You could have returned that, I know you could!"

Ryoma adjusted the Fila cap on his head, trying to look unfazed. He frowned to himself. He didn't really want Momoshiro (or anyone else, for that matter) to know the real reason behind his odd behavior, so he crossed his arms and thought of an excuse quickly.

"That smash was so weak that I could've batted it away with my right hand," Ryoma smirked, his usual cockiness back into his voice. "But I felt sorry for you so I stilled my hand, Momo-senpai."

Knowing the power-player, he wouldn't say no to a direct challenge like that…

"What did you say!"

Just as planned.

For the rest of the match, Ryoma managed to deflect back all of Momoshiro's smashes, making him growl in frustration. Kaidoh had betted Inui's new Special Deluxe 1000% Nutritious Coconut Mold Remix juice that he would lose the match, and he didn't want to lose to Ryoma _and_ drink that horrid juice- even if it _was_ good for his body (or so Inui kept insisting). No way.

He didn't even want to know what Coconut Mold was.

It was obvious to him that Ryoma had something else on his mind- he was spacing out throughout the match- and jumping every time someone on the other side of the fence mentioned the word 'lunch'. Maybe he was hungry or something.

Either way, this was a chance he wasn't going to miss.

Annoyance welled up within him as Ryoma began to zone out again. Was he so weak that Ryoma still had the time to daze out in the middle of a match with him?

Suddenly feeling that he had to prove his worthiness to the young boy, he took advantage of the moment where Ryoma's grip on his tennis racket slackened (he wasn't paying attention to the match again), leapt up, and fired his famed Dunk Smash. He celebrated internally, only feeling a slight twinge of guilt at the fact that he was probably being unfair.

_Oh well, it was Echizen's fault for spacing out during a match anyway!_

His triumphant grin vanished when he realized where the ball was heading: It was speeding in Ryoma's direction- and Ryoma, who wasn't paying his full attention to the game, backed away a little too late.

"Echizen-!"

Momoshiro could only watch helplessly as the ball struck Ryoma in the arm with a dull thud. He fell backwards in shock from the impact, gasping in anguish and clutching his arm instinctively, cradling it to his chest.

Momoshiro jumped across the net separating the two sides of the court and ran towards Ryoma, who was slumped down on the floor, looking dazed- as if he wasn't exactly sure what had happened. He probably didn't, since he hadn't really been paying attention during their match.

"Echizen…! Oi, Echizen, are you alright?"

Ryoma nodded slowly, wincing slightly as the simple action sent sparks of pain down his arm. His golden eyes blinked rapidly to get rid of the painful tears which welled up in his eyes.

"I'm… alright." He mumbled, getting up to his feet. Momoshiro stood around awkwardly, looking worriedly at Ryoma, and resembling Oishi, the worrywart of the team, more than he ever had.

Ryoma swayed unsteadily on his feet and used his tennis racket to keep himself upright, the metallic surface scraping the ground with a sickening screech. He winced slightly. The surface was probably dented now, or not as shiny as before. And it was his favorite racket too…

"Like hell you are!" Momoshiro shouted, grabbing Ryoma by the arm. "Hurry, I'll bring you to the infirmary!" Ryoma winced in pain as Momoshiro had grabbed him by his injured arm.

Belatedly noticing his discomfort, Momoshiro let go of the sore limb.

"M-My bad!"

Then, ignoring Ryoma's protests, Momoshiro half-dragged him to the infirmary.

* * *

**(1) - Kirihara's first appearance in Seigaku was when he overslept on the bus to Seigaku and went all the way to the last stop, right? :D**

**And there you go. :O I'm really, really sorry that Marui didn't appear this chapter, but he'll be the star of the next chapter, I promise! :D **

**Hmm, so who can guess the first person to make Ryoma and Marui's life a complete pain now?**

**Till the next chapter, then! :D**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to **Soul Vrazy, EmeraldRain25, 100thAngel, Tiger723, Namikaze Naruto Tenma no ouji **and **sakurablossoms **for your wonderful reviews! :D

Surprisingly, only one of you correctly guessed who the troublemaker was! :O The rest of you came pretty close though, and you know why. -wink-

Without further ado, happy reading! :D

* * *

Ryoma lay down in the infirmary bed, his arm and head throbbing in pain. There was a weird sort of pressure in both his ears, which successfully muffled out his environment. He couldn't even hear anything around him, his throat was uncomfortably dry and it was killing him.

He really regretted spacing out during the match with Momoshiro- he probably couldn't play tennis for the rest of the day now.

_Or the rest of the week_, he thought to himself glumly.

Momoshiro had gone out to get him some water, (Ryoma wanted Ponta, but Momoshiro had insisted) but he hadn't come back, and it had been already… (here, Ryoma glanced at the clock on the tableside)… twenty minutes.

Surely a trip to the cafeteria couldn't take _that _long?

Just as he watched the clock tick to thirty minutes and he made up his mind to get out of bed to go to the cafeteria for his drink, injured or not, the pressure in his ears lifted. Suddenly, he could hear everything properly again. He breathed a sigh of relief.

One problem solved.

Muffled voices outside the infirmary door caught his attention, and when he listened harder, he could vaguely make out the voices of Momoshiro and… his heart leapt for some reason- Marui. Momoshiro's voice was loud as ever. It was a wonder he couldn't hear just a moment ago, pressure in his ear or not.

"And why on earth…" he heard Momoshiro sigh loudly, "…are you following me?"

Marui chuckled, a sound that made Ryoma's ears tingle pleasantly. "Why can't I? You're hiding something from me, and I think I know who it involves…"

"If you know I'm hiding something, then make my job easier and stop following me!" Momoshiro snapped back, irritation lacing his voice. Ryoma raised an eyebrow. Momoshiro very rarely sounded irritated, except when he was conversing with Kaidoh.

Determined to find out what was happening out there, Ryoma rolled out of the bed— he rolled a little too quickly though, and his arms shuddered in pain when he accidentally rolled on his side. His head began to throb again, and for the second time that day (and not the last), Ryoma cursed himself for spacing out during the match. And Momoshiro for not giving him some slack.

The door opened.

Ryoma, who was in the midst of getting out of the bed and struggling in the blanket which had wrapped around him like a cocoon, turned his head to look at the two people who were standing at the entrance of the door.

Momoshiro and Marui stood at the entrance of the doorway, Momoshiro carrying a bottle of ice cold water, which wasn't that cold anymore considering how long he'd taken to go back to the infirmary.

Ryoma shifted his gaze to Marui, who stood at the door, looking horrified. "E-Echizen! What happened to you?"

Ryoma shifted slightly and opened his mouth to reply- when he felt his arm burn in pain (he was having some difficulty supporting himself). He winced, and stubborn, painful tears filled his golden orbs. He blinked them away furiously. Of all times to look vulnerable and weak!

Marui paled, feeling his heart clench at the look of pain on the younger boy's face. He rushed forward and helped Ryoma back into the bed, noticing how weak the boy felt in his arms. As much as he wanted to prolong the feeling of Ryoma in his arms, he didn't want the other to feel uncomfortable, so he let go quickly. As soon as he made sure that Ryoma was okay, he turned around and rounded up on Momoshiro angrily.

"What happened to Echizen?"

Momoshiro placed the bottled water on the table, looking sheepish. "We were having a match, and I accidentally hit him with my Dunk Smash," he admitted.

Marui looked like he was about to kill Momoshiro. "What?" Momoshiro defended himself, "It wasn't my fault! Echizen was spacing out during the match!"

"Momo-senpai…" Ryoma sighed. He swore to pay back the debt to Momoshiro in the future. Thoroughly.

Marui asked, his usually light and cheerful violet eyes had darkened to an almost possessive shade of amethyst. "You can go ahead and tell your team that Echizen won't be training for the rest of the day, then."

"W-Wha-?" Momoshiro spluttered indignantly. He slammed the wall with his fist, making the windows rattle slightly, and Ryoma's ears hurt. "I'm not going to do what you say! I'm not a messenger or anything, you know?"

"Is that so…" Marui began coldly, the temperature in the room dropping by a few degrees. "Well then, I guess I'll have to tell them myself. That two people in their team has to stop practice due to… severe injuries."

Ryoma's eyes had widened by a fraction. He'd never seen this side of Marui before. Although this side of Marui was scary, he couldn't help but find the Rikkaidai player kind of cool as well.

Momoshiro sighed angrily. "Fine, fine! I'll tell them, happy?" He stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Silence fell as Marui and Ryoma were left alone in the room. Ryoma fidgeted uncomfortably- now that the excitement was over, the pain had returned to his arm, and his throat _hurt_.

Marui turned to Ryoma quickly; his eyes were back to his normal cheerful self- light, violet, and for some strange reason, musical.

"Echizen, is there anything you need?" Marui asked gently, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "Water? Food? Gum?"

Ryoma blushed under his attention, managing not to laugh at the 'gum' bit, and how Marui had said it so naturally, as if it was a proper category in itself. "U-Um…" He began, his throat burning. "C-Could you pass me that bottle over there?" He gestured at the (not very) cold bottle of water on the tableside, condensation already causing water droplets to drip off the side of the bottle and form below it on the wooden surface.

"Oh, okay…" Marui bent over to grab the bottle of water for Ryoma. "Looks like the noisy guy had his uses after all…" he muttered to himself lowly.

"Hm?" Ryoma questioned, his head tilted in confusion. Marui shook his head violently.

"It's nothing!" He wasn't going to insult Ryoma's best friend right in front of him, even though it was evident that the person in question hated his guts.

Ryoma shrugged at his suspicious behavior and took the bottle from Marui. The surface of the bottle felt pleasantly cool on his hot palms, and after enjoying the feeling for a while, he tried to twist the bottle cap. For some strange reason, his numb hands couldn't tighten themselves around the bottle cap, and the bottle fell onto his lap.

Frowning, he picked it up and tried to open it again with the same results. Marui took pity on him and sat down on the bed beside him, picking the bottle up from Ryoma's lap. "I'll do it," he said firmly.

Ryoma didn't really want to appear as weak, but allowed Marui to help him open the bottle without complaint. He took advantage of the time to examine the volley specialist's face—

The crimson hair which was dusted with a pinkish tinge, the mysterious amethyst eyes which lit up with a soft violet hue when he was having fun…

-"Here you go, Echizen," Marui grinned, handing the bottle back to him. Ryoma snapped out of his daze and took the bottle back, his cheeks burning in embarrassment. To think that he was daydreaming about the Rikkaidai player for no particular reason… How mortifying.

"T-Thanks," he muttered, before taking a long drink from the bottle. The cool liquid slid down his throat, and he sighed in contentment. He looked up to see Marui gazing at him with a strange expression.

"…What?" Ryoma asked unsurely, hoping that he hadn't done anything weird.

"Echizen, will you go out with me?"

Marui didn't even seem to know that he had asked Ryoma such a serious question, until he realized that Ryoma was staring at him in surprise. He nearly killed himself in embarrassment. How could he ask Ryoma that? It wasn't as if the other boy liked him or anything—he was just pushing his one-sided feelings onto the boy...!

Ryoma was sure that the blush had spread across his entire face now. "…Huh?" He wasn't hearing things… was he?

Marui, seemingly taking his shock for a sort of horrified rejection, quickly backtracked and gave an awkward laugh. "No! I didn't mean it in that way! I meant… uh…" He thought quickly of an idea. "I meant, do you want to go out _and_ have lunch with me at the new crêperie? The crêpes taste really nice you know, and there're all kinds of flavors, you name it!" He found himself rambling, his mind not really capable of thinking straight. It was probably the shock of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

He nearly hit himself. Ryoma was lying on the bed, and knowing the rookie, probably in much more pain than he let on, and here he was, suggesting that they should go out and have lunch as if everything was fine and dandy!

Ryoma felt his heart slow down to its normal rate, although his cheeks continued to burn. _What was he thinking…?_ Although he felt strangely disappointed, maybe lunch wouldn't be that bad. He was feeling sort of hungry anyway.

"On second thought," Marui rambled on, as if he was afraid of what Ryoma's reply would be, "Maybe you should continue to rest here. We'll go some other time! Yes, right now, what you really need to do is rest up and recover- I don't even know what I was thinking—"

"Marui-senpai—" Ryoma cut in, trying to catch the other's attention.

"—and you don't really need to take what I said to heart! The crepe store won't run away— E-Echizen…?"

Marui cut his own sentence off as he felt Ryoma's hand grab his. His heart rate escalated and he felt almost light-headed. "W-W-What…"

"Marui-senpai," Ryoma smiled softly, "It's fine. Let's go to the crêperie for lunch."

Marui blinked, not really registering what the other was saying— the small smooth hand which had its hold on him… it was like a dream…! Nothing could ruin this perfect moment!

He decided to tune in to what the other was saying, and almost immediately regretted it.

"… your treat of course,"

"Of course! …Huh? Wait—"

And he'd forgotten to mention that those blasted crêpes cost about twenty dollars each.

* * *

**Tried to make up for the lack of Marui in the last chapter, and it became something like this. Haha!**

**How was it? Hope you didn't stare at the chapter in horror when Marui became... evil-like. :D**

**And yay- next chapter: Marui and Ryoma head over to the crêperie! :) How exciting! ... I hope.**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to **Soul Vrazy, 100thAngel, Chibi-chan, Namikaze Naruto Tenma no ouji, Tiger723, Dezzy14, Lone-Wolf-Kai, sakurablossoms **and **EmeraldRain25 **for your smashing reviews! They make me want to bounce off my walls. :D That's a good thing, I assure you! -hands out trampolines for the bouncing fun-

Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Marui sighed sadly as he gazed at his wallet's contents.

His allowance was rapidly getting used up by Ryoma—but he just couldn't find it in himself to regret it. Whenever he caught sight of the other's contented smile, he felt his own lips tug upwards in response as well.

Considering Ryoma's injured state, Marui paid for a cab to fetch them to the crêperie a few streets away. Ryoma had wanted to walk, but Marui didn't think he could bear seeing the other wince in pain whenever he tried to move his sore limbs.

He was probably hurting from just that tiny bit of impact. It just went to show how much pain Momoshiro's Dunk Smash had caused him. He felt anger well up within him again.

Then the image of Ryoma clutching his hand flashed across his mind, and immediately, he felt all cheerful again. _Was this what they called being bipolar? Ah well._ He brushed unhappy thoughts out of his mind calmly.

"Um… Marui-senpai, you're making a weird face," Ryoma pointed out, looking at him warily.

They were seated at the backseat of the cab, watching the scenery flash past through the lightly tinted car windows.

Marui pinched Ryoma's cheek, who blushed at the unexpected gesture. "Am I?"

Ryoma nodded. "You were staring at your wallet and frowning, then looking like you were going to rip it up, then suddenly you started smiling," He imitated Marui's facial expressions as he listed them out. The faces Ryoma made were so hilarious that Marui doubled up, laughing and clutching his stomach.

"W-What?" Ryoma pouted, "I'm just following what you did!"

"Okay, okay…" Marui teased, "I guess you just can't help being cute, Ryoma."

The unexpected compliment coupled with the sudden use of Ryoma's first name made Ryoma blush. He adjusted the cap on his head to hide the pink tint which dusted his cheeks and averted his eyes from Marui, who grinned and let it pass.

As soon as they reached the restaurant, Marui paid the driver the taxi fare and helped Ryoma out of the cab. The blast of warm air felt slightly uncomfortable as they left the cool air-conditioned interior of the cab, and the once-muffled noises of the passersby hit them instantly.

He was beginning to have second thoughts about the whole lunch thing.

He watched a group of school girls walk into the café, giggling and nudging each other, and he looked down at Ryoma to gauge his reaction. He winced; Ryoma looked like he wanted to murder someone.

_Ah…_ Marui sighed. He'd forgotten that Ryoma really seemed to hate crowds.

"Echizen, we can come back another day… or something… you know?" Marui laughed nervously at Ryoma's scary expression. The Seigaku rookie was really something else altogether—to be able to pull off such a menacing expression that could scare off schoolgirls despite his cute appearance…

"It's alright, let's go in," Ryoma shrugged, tugging at Marui's sleeve to catch his attention. Marui looked down in surprise. "And you can call me Ryoma, Marui-senpai."

Marui's heart leapt and an involuntary grin made its way onto his face. It was the first tangible sign of him getting closer to Ryoma at last!

He walked into the café with Ryoma, willing his smile to go away—it didn't work, of course, and he half-waltzed past the diners who stared at him with curious and amused expressions on their faces. Ryoma looked less amused; he didn't seem to like the attention they were receiving, and he stamped on Marui's foot to catch his attention.

"Ow!" Marui cried out, shooting him a hurt expression. "What was that for?"

Ryoma sighed, and slid into an empty seat nearby. "You were catching too much attention."

Marui huffed, and then let a small smile grace his lips again. "Sorry, sorry. I was just so happy that you allowed me to call you by your first name," he admitted straightforwardly. Ryoma replied by huffing slightly and sliding down his cap, while Marui smiled at him endearingly.

A small giggle caught his attention, and he looked up questioningly. A waitress in a uniform which had a skirt which was too short to be appropriate stood in front of them, smiling a little too friendlily. Her fingernails, freshly manicured and painted, tapped the two menus she was holding to her chest.

Tap, tap.

"How may I help you, sir?" She simpered, her eyes twinkling in Marui's direction. She completely ignored Ryoma's presence, who was sitting at the other side of the table. Ryoma looked slightly disturbed.

Marui was visibly startled. "H-Huh? Er…"

Ryoma's mood took a definite turn for the worst. "For starters, why don't you give us the menus you're holding over there?"_ And stop flirting with Marui-senpai, you idiot,_ he wanted to say, but he stopped himself quickly.

The waitress shot him a cold glare, before handing them the menus (she practically threw hers at Ryoma, while proffering another to Marui with both hands and a smile). Ryoma huffed in annoyance. This was why he disliked single girls with jobs—they practically threw themselves at the next good looking male who came along just because they couldn't find time to do it outside of work.

Ryoma flipped through the menu, and Marui noticed with some trepidation that with every passing second, his expression was getting stonier and stonier. Was he displeased with the selection the crêperie had to offer…? He glanced down at his own menu, inspecting it carefully. There was quite a wide range of choices...

"So, have you made up your mind, sir?" The waitress, still standing beside their table, asked. She bent down to meet Marui's light, violet eyes, her shirt left unbuttoned so that he could see the cleavage and the outline of her white, lacey bra. "Or shall I… assist you with that?"

There was a sudden cracking sound, and Marui turned around, startled, to see Ryoma bending his menu as if he could snap it into two, an almost livid look instead of his normally indifferent expression. Marui panicked. It looked like Ryoma really hated this place after all.

"Uh…" He shot a glance in Ryoma's direction, which the other skillfully ignored. "What do you want, Ryoma?"

The waitress looked in Ryoma's direction reluctantly, straightening up from her position. She began to tap her notebook with her glossy fingernails again. Tap, tap.

Ryoma tossed his menu onto the table, his expression the same as before. Maybe he was overthinking things…? Marui shrugged inwardly. No, but that was a rather obvious look of anger… Even though Ryoma seemed to have an indifferent expression on his face all the time, Marui had realized a while back that Ryoma actually had a vast array of expressions. He just never expressed them well. But ever since the incident at the vending machine, Marui had begun to notice more and more of Ryoma's expressions.

His smirk, whenever he won a completely one-sided match. His half-smile when he beat a worthy opponent. His masked look of horror whenever his senior, Inui Sadaharu, crept up behind him and persuaded him to test out his new version of Penal Tea. His quiet look of contentment whenever there was a nice shady tree where he could curl up and take an afternoon nap.

And the look of irritation he gave fans who tried to distract players during a game.

Marui shuffled uneasily. "Um… Ryoma…" Oh, how he wished he'd brought his new packet of strawberry gum today. He really needed to chew on something when he was nervous.

Ryoma stared at him strangely, his golden eyes with an indecipherable expression. "I'll have whatever you're having, Marui-senpai."

"O-Oh, right," Marui agreed quickly, turning to the waitress, who seemed glad to be able to be of service to him. "Then, two servings of Strawberry-Vanilla Ice Cream Crepe Deluxe!"

The waitress beamed at him brightly. "Sure thing, sir." She walked away, but not before casting a wink in his direction. He stared back in confusion. Women were strange creatures.

A loud cough near him shook him out of his reverie. "H-Hey, Ryoma," Marui tried to grin, trying not to look intimidated by the scary expression that was on the rookie player's face at the moment. What did he do to incur the wrath of the great Echizen Ryoma? He thought frantically for anything he could have done to upset the boy, but he couldn't think of anything.

Ryoma leant forward, his golden eyes sharp and calculating, making Marui feel like he could see through his very soul. His heart rate sped up. It was near impossible, and it was just a wild guess but… Could it be that Ryoma had noticed—that Marui liked him—

"Heh… So Marui-senpai likes those kinds of girls? I see…" Ryoma chuckled, though he sounded anything but amused. Marui tried not to let the relief and disappointment show on his face. Ryoma didn't find out after all… Well, that was to be expected, after all.

Ryoma's indifferent mask was on his face, though Marui, with some surprise, noticed that his slender shoulders were trembling slightly. Could it be that Ryoma was upset about that thought for some reason?

He did seem to hate that waitress after all.

Marui denied it quickly. "No, of course not!" He raised an eyebrow for the effect, "Why would you think that I liked her? I just met her!" Besides, I like you, he added silently in his mind, before heaving a deep sigh. He could never tell Ryoma that.

Ryoma looked slightly placated. "Oh, is that so?" He commented lightly, turning to stare out of the window. Marui followed his gaze to see what he was looking at- the pedestrians were crossing past the busy roads, the cars were honking loudly, and shoppers hurried under the blazing hot sun to get all their shopping done before they got a bad case of heatstroke.

"Ryoma, what…" He turned back to Ryoma, blinked- and his breath caught in his throat. The sun was reflected in Ryoma's eyes, making the clear golden orbs shine with an amber hue. The clattering sounds of the other diners having their meal faded away, as he lost himself in those mesmerizing eyes…

"Here you go, sir!" A shrill voice cut through the silence like a knife, and he jumped—the table jerked slightly, and he realized that Ryoma had jumped in surprise as well. Looking up and catching the other's eye, his lips quirked up into a smile before he was laughing uncontrollably, Ryoma gave a tiny and nearly unnoticeable smile as well, but Marui caught it, and his spirits lifted.

It looked like Ryoma had forgiven him—for what, he didn't know, but what mattered was that _he was forgiven._

A loud cough caught his attention, and he looked to the side guiltily. The waitress was back with their food (he'd forgotten), and was staring impatiently at him. He stared back at her, confused. Did she want him to take his food himself or something?

Satisfied that she had his complete attention now, she bent down and slid their plates across the table, successfully exposing her assets again, all the while giving a flirty smile and giggle. Marui scratched his head, looking at Ryoma for help. What on earth was the girl doing?

Ryoma seemed to have understood something though, for he suddenly chuckled and shook his head. Marui glared and mouthed a few words to him. _Tell me later._

Ryoma smirked. _Mada mada dane._

Marui resisted the urge to tear his hair apart in frustration. Ryoma was cute alright, but he had a bad habit of taunting people at the wrong time.

The waitress slipped something into his hand, winked, and walked away, shaking her hips slowly in an attempt to be sensuous. Marui frowned and looked down at the object she had slipped into his palm. It was a slip of paper, and there was numbers written on it. It looked like a of phone number of sorts.

Marui looked up at Ryoma's curious gaze, and showed him the paper. "What's with this? Does she know you or something?"

Ryoma surveyed the paper for a moment, before ripping it into two, nonchalantly brushing the shredded bits of paper off the table. Marui gasped. "Why did you do that?" He whispered urgently. "What if it was the number of her dying great-grandmother who wanted someone to talk to for the last time because she had a terminal disease that would cause her to die in two months—"

Ryoma sighed. "I severely doubt that." The indecipherable expression was back on his face. "She wanted to date you, that's all."

Marui blinked slowly as comprehension dawned upon him. "Oh…"

"You weren't interested in her though, right…?" Ryoma asked him, suddenly sounding uncertain.

Marui hastened to assure him that he wasn't. "Of course not!"

Looking relatively happier, Ryoma finally took his first glance at the crepes, his golden eyes widening in childish delight. The Strawberry-Vanilla Ice Cream Crepe Deluxe was exactly as its name suggested- swirls of strawberry and vanilla ice-cream sat neatly upon a soft and fluffy layer of crepe, with elegant layers of chocolate drizzled upon it. It truly was a magnificent sight.

"Itadakimasu!" Ryoma said enthusiastically, and reached out to hold the crepe. However, when his still-sore hands touched the ice-cold crepe, a jolt of pain spiked up his arm, and he withdrew his hand quickly. Marui gazed at him, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

Ryoma bit his lip, looking extremely upset. "My hands hurt…" He looked pleadingly at Marui, as if asking him to solve the problem, though he knew that it was sort of impossible. Marui understood his feelings perfectly. He remembered the time Jackal took his ice-cream away because he said it was going to make him gain weight, and that it was Jackal's in the first place since he had paid for it. Rubbish. Good food should be shared. It was pure torture to have a delectable dessert in front of you but be unable to eat it.

Suddenly, he had an idea. A weird one, and probably awkward one for the both of them, but it'd have to do. "How about I help you…" Marui trailed off.

_How to say it without sounding awkward?_

Ryoma stared at him in confusion. "How…?"

Marui flushed in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Well, you know…" He scratched his head sheepishly. "I mean, by feeding you…"

There was an awkward silence, and Ryoma turned pink in embarrassment. "W-What…?" He spluttered indignantly, his golden eyes wide with surprise. Even though he was embarrassed, Marui couldn't help but feel a little insulted. Was it that bad to be fed by him?

"Well… I… You…" Ryoma stuttered incoherently, staring at the dessert, then back at Marui, who raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's the only way you're going to be able to eat it," Marui told him. An evil smirk appeared on his face. "Unless you don't want to eat it- I can eat your share as well, no problem." He teased Ryoma, chuckling slightly at the now horrified look on Ryoma's face.

"N-No! I'll eat it! Feed me!" Ryoma declared quickly, and probably too loudly, for the couple eating near them looked up to stare at them in bemusement, before returning to their meal.

"Shh…" Marui whispered, and Ryoma nodded, his face now nearly crimson with embarrassment.

Marui lifted the creamy crepe to Ryoma's lips, and Ryoma took a hesitant bite. He shivered as the cold ice cream ran down his throat, filling him with an indescribably sugary sensation. Ryoma beamed like a little child, his eyes sparkling as brightly as when he had first seen the crepe, possibly brighter.

"It's so delicious…!"

Marui stared as Ryoma ate the crepe from his hand, this time without hesitation, and licking the icing which were threatening to ooze down the sides of the crepe. He missed one though, and the icing slid down Marui's wrist, making him shudder from the cold. Ryoma looked at him guiltily. "S-Sorry Marui-senpai…! Don't worry, I'll clean it for you…"

Before Marui could say anything, Ryoma abandoned the crepe for a few seconds, leaning in to brush his lips against Marui's wrist. Marui shuddered as Ryoma's lips, icy cold from the ice cream, touched his skin, and ran his tongue across Marui's skin, licking the icing off his wrist.

"Ryoma…A-Ah…" Marui couldn't help but shudder in guilty pleasure, his heart pounding against his chest from the sudden burst of adrenaline pumping through his veins. Could Ryoma feel his pulse like this? If he continued to lick his wrist like this, he'd…

"Marui-senpai?" Ryoma looked up, his head tilted to one side in confusion. "Did you say something?"

Marui snapped out of his daze, his cheeks turning red. What was he thinking? "N-No! I didn't say anything at all! You're imagining things!" He stuttered unconvincingly, and Ryoma stared at him strangely.

"If you say so…"

And Marui sighed in relief and disappointment as Ryoma went back to the crepe, eating it happily.

If things had continued like that…

* * *

Unknown to the both of them, a figure was watching the both of them from outside the crêperie through the wide, glass windows. As Ryoma licked the icing off Marui's hand, he pounded his fist onto an adjacent wall, scaring several schoolgirls who were walking near him. They walked past him quickly, whispering amongst themselves.

"Echizen, to think that you've been tricked by the pink-haired bastard… I won't forgive him, I won't...!"

* * *

**Seems like I wrote a... significantly lengthier chapter this time. It was because I couldn't find anywhere to break off into another chapter, haha. :D**

**Hope you enjoyed the Marui x Ryoma in this chapter! 8D**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to **Soul Vrazy, Zwolftd, 100thAngel, Lone-Wolf-Kai, Tiger723, ****Namikaze Naruto Tenma no ouji, EmeraldRain25, Chibi-chan, xXbyshoriXx, FranscoiseLaraLapis, BlackSnowKitten, Nekokratik, TunaForDesert, Tearful Shadows** and **RedPhoenix20** for your beautiful reviews! :D

Ouch. I can really see how long I took to update this! Sorry!

Well... Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Momoshiro didn't get it.

Why was the famed volley specialist coming all the way from Rikkaidai to Seigaku just to invite Ryoma to eat lunch? It made no sense. It was a conspiracy, no doubt about it.

And it wasn't just a 'once a week' occurrence- this happened almost every day!

It had come to the point where the Seigaku regulars were all pretty familiar with Marui, and Momoshiro hesitated when asking him to go out for burgers. The regulars were getting suspicious of their sudden closeness…

_Did the bubblegum idiot think that he could steal Ryoma away from him? _

He'd had his suspicions ever since he'd caught Ryoma having sushi at the Rikkaidai table at Kawamura's sushi bar. He'd seen them interact—it hadn't been anything out of the ordinary, but he'd decided to keep an eye on their rookie and the Rikkaidai team.

And then, just a few weeks later, Ryoma was close enough to _eat out of that bubblegum idiot's hand. _It was too unnatural! There was definitely something going on between them, and the fact that Ryoma didn't tell him anything about it made him feel slightly resentful.

"Hey Echizen," Momoshiro began, hesitating slightly as they donned their regular jerseys in the changing room.

"Hm?" Ryoma's reply was more than a little muffled, as he struggled to get the jersey over his head. He seemed to be fighting a losing battle, and Momoshiro watched him as he struggled violently. If not for the circumstances and the fact that he was the one who had injured Ryoma's arm in the first place, Momoshiro would have been amused by the whole situation.

Instead, his voice lowered to the volume of an average person's voice (which was an effort) and he leant forward seriously. "What's up with you and the pink-haired guy?" He asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice and failing.

Ryoma's movements ceased momentarily, before he continued his attempts to untangle himself. "Nothing," he replied sounding nonchalant, but Momoshiro couldn't see his face so he couldn't be sure. "And his name is Marui."

If Momoshiro didn't know any better, he'd say that there was a tinge of defensiveness in the rookie's voice. But it couldn't be, could it? The pink-haired brat wasn't as close to Ryoma than he was… In fact, they barely knew each other! The memory of Ryoma eating with him at the crêperie, the pink-haired bastard allowing Ryoma to lick the icing off his wrist… He gritted his teeth in anger.

Finally having worn the jersey over his head, Ryoma took a deep breath of fresh air, looking relieved. His emerald locks were disheveled and his cheeks were flushed, having suffered a loss of air from the time he spent stuck in his jersey. He looked almost like a kitten who'd just narrowly escaped from some disastrous fate.

"That sort of guy… he should just stick to people in his own league!..." Momoshiro muttered before he could stop himself. Ryoma blinked.

"What did you say, Momo-senpai?"

Momoshiro laughed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "N-No, it's nothing!"

"Hm…" Ryoma shot him a suspicious glare, then picked up his tennis racket and gave it a few swings, before proceeding out of the changing room. "You'd better hurry up, Momo-senpai, or Buchou's going to have your head."

"Wait!"

Ryoma looked around, his surprise showing on his face. Momoshiro was acting fishy today, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.

Momoshiro stuttered, looking a little embarrassed. You can do it, he told himself, invite him before the stupid pink-haired brat does!

"Wanna go out for burgers today?" He asked, trying to sound cheery and unconcerned.

Ryoma considered it for a moment. "Nope," he replied, in his usual bored fashion. "Marui-senpai invited me first." There was a pause, as he shot Momoshiro one of his rare, genuinely apologetic looks. "Sorry."

And he meant it. He felt bad for his friend, but he'd grown to enjoy the time spent together with Marui as well…

"Oi, are you okay, Momo-senpai?" Ryoma asked, starting to get a little concerned for his friend. "Your hand's shaking. Does it hurt?"

Momoshiro smiled grimly, clenching his shaking fist. "No, don't worry about me. I'll go to the tennis court in a little."

Still looking slightly concerned, Ryoma nodded and left the changing room, closing the door behind him. As the door clicked to a close, Momoshiro pounded the wall with his shaking fist, ignoring the jolt of pain he experienced from the shock.

Marui Bunta…

This meant war.

* * *

Practice ended quickly, and Ryoma cast a glance at the clock. A quarter to four… He had about fifteen minutes before Marui-senpai reached Seigaku.

Striding to the changing room, he slid his tennis racket into his bag and hurried to the shower room with a fresh set of clothes folded neatly in his arms. Slipping his clothes off, he sighed in pleasure at the sensation of the cold water running down his body, washing away all the sweat and grime away. He enjoyed it for a while before reaching for the soap. Marui would be arriving in ten minutes after all. He didn't want to keep the volley player waiting and suffer the humility of getting teased continuously by his teammates.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. His teammates had seemed different from before—they even acted all cheery when Marui was around but… there was a different atmosphere. Rather than a light and happy one, it was dark and unwelcoming, behind all the smiles.

Did they… actually have something against Marui…? But Marui hadn't even done anything to them before… Or did he?

Or was it just his overactive imagination…?

Ryoma twirled his drenched locks between his fingers. This was just too confusing!

The door creaked, making him jump slightly, but when he turned, there was no one there. Shrugging to himself and hoping that it was his imagination, he continued to scrub his body down with soap.

As he turned the water down, he stepped back to grab his towel to dry himself off, and… his hands closed on empty air. His eyes widened. His towels and clothes were gone!

Wondering if someone had played a prank on him (maybe one of the seniors who disliked him like Arai), he furrowed his eyebrows. There was no way he was going to run out into the changing room, unclothed, without knowing where his clothes were. There was a 60% chance of running into someone on the way (was Inui rubbing off him?) and knowing his seniors' crazy antics, his clothes could be hanging on a tree or something.

What was he supposed to do…? There was five minutes before Marui would reach, and if he did, the regulars would most likely point him in the direction of the shower room. If he was found like that…

His face turned bright red at the very thought. He would never live it down if Marui saw him like this.

Suddenly, there was a shuffling sound outside his door, what he recognized as shoes scraping across the uneven surface of the ground, and he perked up.

"Hey… Is anyone there?" He raised his voice slightly, hoping that the other person would hear him.

There was a long pause, before a gruff response came. "Uh… yeah."

Ryoma would recognize that voice anywhere. "Momo-senpai!' he realized, relieved. "Could you help me see if my clothes and towel are outside?"

There was more shuffling outside the door. "H-Huh? Why?" Momoshiro sounded slightly guilty, and Ryoma momentarily wondered why. He pushed the thought out of his mind though- there were more important things to be worrying about at the moment.

"S-Someone took them away as a prank, I'm guessing," Ryoma replied, his voice shaking involuntarily as he began to shiver from the continued feeling of the cold air hitting his damp body. "S-So cold…" he murmured to himself, hoping that his best friend would hurry up.

"O-Oh, right!" Momoshiro yelled, still sounding suspiciously guilty. Ryoma couldn't find it in himself to care, though. "Found them!" Momoshiro shouted just a second later.

_Well, that was fast. _Ryoma raised an eyebrow. Momoshiro sure knew his stuff.

"Well, hand them over," he said, trying not to sound impatient but failing. He didn't want to sound mean, but seriously, he was frozen stiff!

"About that…"

Ryoma hugged himself, shivering. "W-What's the problem?" He asked, his teeth chattering. _Couldn't this wait for later?_

"Echizen, can I join you and the pink-haired idiot for lunch?"

"Huh?" _What was stupid Momo-senpai saying? Thanks to him, I'm already late!_

"I said, let me join you guys for lunch, o-or… I won't give you your clothes and towel back!" The question suddenly sounded more like a demand, and Ryoma's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait… so you were the one who took my stuff!" He shouted, his predicament forgotten in his horror. _Stupid Momo-senpai! Idiot Momo-senpai!_

Momoshiro at the other side of the door sounded adamant. "I mean it, Echizen!" He insisted.

Ryoma opened his mouth to retort, but he sneezed, and all the coldness and numbness came back to him in an instant. "F-Fine, you idiot! Do whatever you want!"

Momoshiro handed him his clothes and towel through a crack in the door, and after drying up and wearing his clothes at last, Ryoma opened the door with a slam and walked past Momoshiro, who was grinning triumphantly. His smile faded when Ryoma shot him an icy glare, and strode off without another word.

"Oi, Echizen, wait up!"

* * *

Marui leant against the gate, smiling to himself as he blew on his bubblegum. He stretched, making a contented sound at the back of his throat. Today was a good day.

He'd be having lunch with Ryoma again, just the two of them. Ever since he'd found out that he liked the golden-eyed boy, he'd racked his brains on a common interest for the both of them, but he kept coming up with nothing. The meeting with the boy at Kawamura's sushi bar hit him then, and he'd remembered.

Echizen Ryoma loved to eat, and would never say no to a treat.

That rhymed.

Anyway, as long as he lured- invited- Ryoma out with tidbits, he was sure he'd be able to get on the good side of the rookie… eventually. It seemed like things were looking up for him though. The time they spent at the crêperie together had to be a sign that they were getting closer. Ryoma was happy with the arrangements, and Marui loved to eat as well… It was a win-win situation, and life was good.

Today, however, Ryoma was late. Granted, it had only been a few minutes, but Ryoma was usually the early one (he was quick whenever it food was involved, apparently). He checked the time on his phone, raising his eyebrow. 4.10PM…

Ten minutes late… Well, he figured to himself, it could be some sort of sudden meeting or something. He leant back again and waited, blowing his gum.

Another five minutes passed idly by, and just as he made up his mind to find Ryoma, the sound of footsteps reached his ears. He grinned. Finally! He'd recognize those footsteps anywhere- the idle yet confident and graceful steps of the little tennis prodigy and… He frowned. There was another step of footsteps close by, most probably walking beside Ryoma.

Steps… which were loud and enthusiastic and hurt his ears when he listened closely… Could it be…?

As Ryoma rounded the corner, Marui stole his cap from him and smiled cheerily. "Hey Ryoma!"

Ryoma looked up, his golden eyes widening in recognition. "Marui-senpai, sorry to keep you waiting." His eyes flickered briefly to the person standing behind him, a look of irritation flashing across his face.

Marui looked up, and his mouth opened in a silent 'o'.

"It's dunk-man!" He exclaimed, surprised.

"Hey, pink-haired idiot!" Momoshiro shouted at the same time, moving into a threatening stance.

The two of them stared at each other; light amethyst eyes meeting coal-black. Ryoma shuffled between the both of them uncomfortably.

"Um, Marui-senpai…" he began, sounding guilty. Marui broke eye contact with Momoshiro and looked down at Ryoma in surprise. Ryoma never sounded guilty. Never.

Even when he made Marui pay for his extra burgers and sushi and sundaes and…

"Momo-senpai forced me—I mean, he wants to tag along for lunch." Ryoma said, shooting Momoshiro a cold glare, and deliberately slipping up on his words.

It wasn't that he disliked the idea of Momoshiro having lunch with the both of them, in fact, Momoshiro would be more than welcomed to join them in normal circumstances. What he disliked though, was Momoshiro's way of going about with asking him. Seriously- stealing his stuff just to blackmail him into agreeing? It just seemed so… forceful and unlike the usual cheery guy. Wondering if something had happened to his best friend lately, he made a mental note to ask Inui about it later.

Marui frowned at this- his plans of quality time with Ryoma were effectively ruined. He pouted and blew a huge bubble in the direction of Momoshiro. "…Fine. I'm not paying for his share, though."

He whipped out his phone and dialed his doubles' partner's phone number expertly. Might as well get more company to share the cost of their lunch since it wasn't going to be just him and Ryoma…

Jackal answered on the second ring.

"_Bunta_?" His doubles partner sounded disbelieving at the fact that Marui had called him, almost insultingly so. "_What are you doing… didn't you say you were going to have lunch with a friend?"_

"Plans have changed," Marui pouted, "So Jackal, get over here now."

"…_What? Why!"_

Marui chuckled, sending tingles of horror down Jackal's spine. He knew that laugh. It was the laugh whenever he had to…

"You'll help to foot the bill, of course!"

Jackal had never regretted being Marui's best friend so much, until now.

* * *

**Alright, I'm... well, early, but MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU LOVELIES! :)**

**No Christmas theme or anything in this chapter because... Well, just because! :(**

**Have a very happy holiday~~ I'm not looking forward to school in early January, no I'm not! **

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to **Tearful Shadows, tennisgirl16, Tiger723, iKitsuNeko, EmeraldRain25, FranscoiseLaraLapis, Soul Vrazy, 100thAngel, The runt Duchess** and **OniGiriDreamOtaku **for taking the time to review! I love you guys so much!

And... yes! It's been quite awhile, but here's the next chapter!

* * *

Jackal deadpanned at the situation he was in, and sighed irritably. He was sitting between Marui and Momoshiro who was sitting between Ryoma and himself.

Was that complicated or what?

It was becoming increasingly obvious what was happening here. Marui and Ryoma were going to have lunch while Momoshiro got jealous for some reason and tried to sit in between them. Marui didn't want to sit beside Momoshiro (they were staring daggers at each other the whole time) and dragged Jackal to sit between him and Momoshiro.

This, of course, ended up with Ryoma sitting beside Momoshiro, much to Momoshiro's obvious joy and on the completely opposite end of the human line as Marui. Jackal could hear something crackling beside him. He didn't have to look to see that it was Marui crushing his bubblegum wrapper beneath his fist.

They were attracting a lot of weird glances from the people around them- they were sitting in a fast food restaurant, and the seats were made for a maximum of four people facing each other in a two-by-two fashion. Yet, what was happening here was that the four of them were piled onto one of the benches…

Jackal closed his eyes in embarrassment. He could hear the staff whispering to each other…

"That's it," said a grumpy voice to the left. It was Ryoma, and he wasn't looking very happy about the situation he was caught in. "Forget lunch, I'm going home."

Jackal nodded sagely. That was a good decision. Best decision he'd heard in a long time. Time to get out of this mess. He just hoped Bunta wasn't going to say anything about it-

Marui's eyes widened in horror. "Don't go, Ryoma!" He pleaded.

Jackal sighed. Too late.

Meanwhile, Momoshiro beamed a little too over-enthusiastically. "Well, I'm going too, then!" He shot Marui a taunting grin and climbed out of the seat after Ryoma eagerly, all ready to get out of the restaurant.

Jackal nodded again. That's right. Ignore Bunta, ignore Bunta, ignore Bunta…

Ryoma looked at Marui's aghast expression, and sighed. "On second thought, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay…"

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah…" Momoshiro tagged after Ryoma like a lost puppy. "Yeah, I'm hungry too! We can't go without food at all, we can't!"

And so, they ended up with Ryoma facing Marui, seated beside Momoshiro, who was facing Jackal. At last. A normal seating arrangement.

Though Marui was happy that Ryoma had decided to stay, he continued to shoot angry glares to Momoshiro. "Why'd you have to come back too…?" He mumbled under his breath to Momoshiro.

Ryoma perked up. "Did you say something Marui-senpai?"

Marui shook his head vigorously. "No, no! You're just imagining things!"

Ryoma furrowed his brows. "I've been imagining a lot of things these days…" he muttered stonily, before reaching out to take the menu lying near him. Marui reached out at the same time, and their hands brushed against each other. Marui's cheeks heated up, and he apologized quickly.

Jackal could hear Momoshiro cracking his knuckles noisily under the table, staring threateningly at Marui, who had handed the menu to Ryoma with an uncharacteristically gentlemanly smile. He sighed. He really just wanted to get out of this place—leave the potential lovebirds to themselves and, if he was in a good enough mood (which he wasn't really), get the noisy guy away from Marui and Ryoma and leave them to themselves.

Seriously… Momoshiro was intruding on what could potentially be the start of Bunta's first ever glimmer of his previously non-existent love-life. He'd always been too engrossed in bubblegum, crepes and well, food in general, to care much about dating.

That was something that Jackal thought of as very unhealthy indeed.

Now that Bunta had found his potential lifelong partner, he'd support his doubles partner in this. He shot Marui a slight nod to indicate his willingness to help him, but Marui, still blushing heavily, didn't notice. He sighed. Why was he even bothering…?

With a loud clearing of his throat which caught everyone's attention at the table, he took Momoshiro by the arm and dragged him up, pulling him up. Momoshiro gaped and flailed like a dying fish (he was too involved with glaring at Marui, so he had gotten a shock when he was dragged to a standing position) while Marui and Ryoma looked at him in confusion.

"I'm going to the washroom," Jackal elaborated, and tugged Momoshiro's arm. "Momoshiro, you come with me."

Momoshiro stared at him speechlessly for a second, before yelling incoherently and trying to get away from Jackal. "Why do I have to go to the washroom with you? Why!"

Jackal ignored his yells, shot an apologetic smile to a few customers who were staring at them, then dragged Momoshiro all the way to the washroom. He caught Marui sending him an understanding and grateful smile, which he replied to with a discreet nod. Finally, some recognition for his efforts! He nodded to himself. Doubles partners had to help each other in times of need after all!

Maybe he could persuade Marui to foot the bill and give his wallet time to recover from all this unnecessary food costs.

They reached the washroom, and he closed the door, smirking as the last time he saw were Marui blushing as he watched Ryoma rub his eyes cutely. He smirked. _Having a good atmosphere on eh? Bunta, you player! _He chided his partner fondly in his mind, before turning back to Momoshiro.

Momoshiro, his face red from yelling at the top of his voice, muttered something about using the washroom since he was there, and slammed the cubicle door. Jackal shrugged. He actually didn't feel like using the washroom, but he might as well act the part.

He entered the cubicle next to Momoshiro's and sat down awkwardly. For a while, there was an uncomfortable silence. The silence was broken by Momoshiro a moment later, as Jackal heard Momoshiro coughing slightly.

"Need some cough drops, Momoshiro?" Jackal inquired, feeling slightly sorry for the power player, since he'd obviously liked Ryoma as well. _Sorry Momoshiro, but I'm on Bunta's side._

"H-Huh…? Er, no, I don't," Momoshiro replied, stuttering slightly. Jackal frowned. Momoshiro sounded weird—well he always did, what with his never-ending enthusiasm and all. Still, he sounded weirder than usual today.

A silence fell between them again. Jackal frowned. He had intended to leave the cubicle once Momoshiro left his, but so far, nothing was happening. It occurred to him that they could be sitting in the cubicles, waiting for each other to leave and not actually _using_ the washroom… for well, what it was made for. What a waste of time and resources. The poor toilet, not getting to fulfill its purpose for its existence…

Just as Jackal decided to get up and _out_, (he didn't like staying in washrooms any longer than he had to), he heard Momoshiro speak again, and he sat down again gingerly, trying not to make a noise. Marui and Ryoma should be getting along well outside- he'd have to go along with Momoshiro then, since the other seemed to be acting so weirdly. Also, it was a great delaying tactic to let Marui and Ryoma spend more time outside.

Killing two birds with one stone? Perfect.

"Uh, hey, you know…" Momoshiro piped up cautiously again. Was it the echo in the washroom making his voice sound stranger than usual, or was it Jackal's ears…? "You know that I like Echizen, right…?"

"Er… Right," Jackal replied stonily, not liking where the conversation going. He had never liked discussions about others' love lives, and the realization that he was right in the middle of one at the moment slammed into him.

_Bunta, you owe me. You owe me a plateful of food now. _

_In other words, you owe me your life. _

"Well… yeah," Momoshiro heaved a deep sigh, which reverberated around the walls of the washroom. "That's how it is." He stated this so matter-of-factly that Jackal couldn't help but think that he was missing something. Okay… so Momoshiro told him that he liked Ryoma (he already knew- it was obvious), and sounded like he wanted Jackal to say something.

Jackal could hardly repress the exclamation of 'So…?' that had unconsciously risen to his lips. What on earth did Momoshiro want him to say? Good luck?

Momoshiro sounded uneasy now, and his voice had a pitying edge to it. "Yeah… I'm not interested in anyone other than Ryoma so… I'M SORRY!"

His voice had risen to a shout at the end of the sentence, and the echoes bounced off the walls, ringing into Jackal's ears.

Jackal sat there, stunned, his mouth agape in horror, as everything clicked into place at once.

Momoshiro thought Jackal was interested…

Momoshiro thought Jackal was interested in him.

Momoshiro thought Jackal was interested in him, and that it was the reason why Jackal had invited Momoshiro to the washroom with him.

Customers who had their seats relatively near the washroom stared in the direction of the washroom as a horrified yell echoed from within.

And Marui, still casting Ryoma secret glances as they continued to have their meal, was happily oblivious to the mental decay both of their friends were facing in the washroom, just a few meters away from their seat.

* * *

**Not much Marui and Ryoma in this chapter, sadly. I deeply apologize! But not to worry! Things will definitely be moving on from here!... I hope. There's actually going to be some plot in this story, so I've been racking my brains a lot for the past few... weeks. Ouch. My brain hurts. xD**

**AND YES. Jackal and Momoshiro. I can just see your horrified faces now. No, they are not going to be a couple though, because honestly it's difficult to imagine for myself as well. ****Unless you guys _want_ them to be one... -evil wink-**

**Let's have a toast to more Marui and Ryoma moments in the following chapters! Cheers!**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to **KyuubiiLover27**, **FranscoiseLaraLapis**, **iKitsuNeko**, **WhitewingsFlutter**, **Tearful Shadows**, **Tiger723**, **The runt Duchess**, **Daraegon** and our mysterious **Guest** for reviewing! I WOULD LIKE TO HAND LOVE LETTERS TO YOU GUYS RIGHT NOW TO SHOW MY APPRECIATION! ... Please don't look so disturbed. 8D

Okay. I know I took years again. :"( I have no excuses! I was trying to fix my plot, or the lack of it, again... and it wound up taking such a long time. I'm really sorry!

And so, here's the next chapter!

* * *

"Marui-senpai…" Ryoma sighed, stretching lazily in his seat as he tried to catch the volley player's attention. The comfortable atmosphere in the restaurant was making him sleepy, but he never quite felt fully at ease of sleeping in any other public area other than under his favorite tree.

Maybe they could just leave Kuwahara-san and Momo-senpai and go home. They were taking way too long to do… whatever they were doing in the bathroom!

Marui flashed him a contented smile, half a finger in the icing of his desert. His desert today, Ryoma noticed blandly, was that of strawberry, vanilla, mint and chocolate ice cream swirled together appetizingly, with sprinkled chocolate shavings on the very top.

For Marui, he felt like the happiest person in the world. With Ryoma by his side, a whole bowlful of desert just waiting for him to dig in, and four packs of flavored gum in his pocket… it seemed that nothing could go wrong.

Ryoma shot him a look of utter displeasure.

"Marui-senpai!" He tried again irritably.

"Yes, Ryoma?" Marui asked, surprised by the sudden vehemence in Ryoma's voice.

"What do you think Kuwahara-san and Momo-senpai are doing?" His expression was, to Marui's nervous apprehension, none-too-pleased.

Marui shrugged, licking the icing off his finger. Honestly, he didn't really care if they took even more time in the bathroom—it was difficult enough to get quality time with Ryoma as it was! Perhaps Jackal was trying to stall Momoshiro in the bathroom or something to give him time.

He nodded in approval. Jackal was a true friend indeed.

Ryoma blinked as he stared as Marui licked the icing off his finger. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar…

The memory of him licking the crepe's ice cream off Marui's wrist surfaced to his mind, and he flushed slightly. At that moment, it had seemed like the appropriate thing to do… but now, the more he remembered it, the swifter the embarrassment was threatening to take over his mind!

Marui watched bemusedly as Ryoma bit his lip, looking faintly adorable.

Ryoma was a treasure—no, maybe something even more—to him.

A new text message on his phone prompted him to read its preview on his phone screen. His expression grew darker, and his previously cheerful emotions evaporated away in wisps.

…If only they would understand how much Ryoma mattered to him as well.

* * *

Ryoma and Marui had already finished eating, and were waiting impatiently for their friends to come out of the washroom. Marui had already started on a new packet of gum by the time the two came out of the washroom. He offered one to Ryoma, who inspected it carefully (grape-flavored bubblegum) before taking a piece.

.Marui knew not to question when he saw his doubles partner's expression when he came out of the washroom after what seemed like a few years. The normally calm and composed player looked completely shaken, and every few moments, he let out a shudder, as if something horrifying had happened to him. Marui made a note to interrogate him later, though.

Ryoma, on the other hand, didn't know, or was simply curious, for he walked over to Momoshiro after he came back. "Hey, what happened, Momoshiro-senpai?" He asked lightly, tapping the power player on the shoulder. "What were you doing in the bathroom that took you so long to come out?" Marui winced—Ryoma really didn't give a hoot about other's privacy.

Momoshiro jerked back as he blushed furiously.

"N-No, it's nothing…!" Momoshiro babbled, looking like he had been caught red-handed with a stack of porn magazines, or like he'd confessed to his friend in his sleep... or like _he'd_ been confessed to in _his friend's_ sleep. Either way, he looked very, very uncomfortable and it was painfully obvious.

"Hm…" Ryoma raised an eyebrow at the other's antics. "Well, I'm heading back home." He looked over at Marui hopefully. Catching the message, Marui hurried over to his side.

"I'll walk you home then," Marui grinned, shooting the still-horrified Jackal a grateful look.

Momoshiro was too horrified to object, and by the time he turned around to demand to go along with them, they had already hurried off. He turned to look at Jackal, who looked like his brain had been frozen.

"W-Well…" Jackal muttered lowly, so that Momoshiro had to lean in to hear him, "I'm… just going to go home and uh… feed my bonsai plants."

Momoshiro blinked. "You have a bonsai plant? And you mean water, right?"

Jackal didn't seem to hear him though; he walked off in a daze, leaving Momoshiro behind alone. Momoshiro shrugged to himself. Weird people had weird hobbies. The memory of the washroom rose up to the surface of his mind, and he shook his head wildly. No, no. the rookie player was the only one he would ever love!

He frowned. For some reason, Ryoma seemed to have the misimpression that he was in love with Tachibana's younger sister—who was it again?-, An. True, he did find her pretty and quirky in a funny way, but he mostly thought of her as a younger sister he wanted to protect.

He nodded, a new determination firing up within him. Today, he was going to go home, and make some plans to break up Marui and Ryoma… preferably ones that would actually work. Maybe he could ask Inui-senpai for help.

As long as he didn't have to drink those blasted drinks in exchange.

* * *

Marui walked contentedly down the cobbled street, walking closely to Ryoma. At times, their fingers touched briefly, sending a jolt of electricity through the point of contact with Ryoma's hand. He made sure not to get too close to Ryoma, hoping that the boy wouldn't get irked by his clinginess. He couldn't help it though; Ryoma was just too adorable for his own good.

There was a comfortable silence between the both of them, but for Marui, he never appreciated silences much. Soon, he was telling Ryoma all about his teammates back in Rikkaidai, and as he spoke, a smile rose to his lips without him realizing.

"And then, Sanada-buchou shouted at the top of his voice when he realized that he had been fooled! Kirihara, that cheeky little thing, ran off before we could, so he was punished twice as hard as we were!" Marui laughed—it was another one of his light, musical laughs, and it had Ryoma captivated for a good few moments.

"You should have seen his face; 200 laps..." Marui trailed off uncertainly as he realized Ryoma was no longer walking by his side. "Um… Ryoma?"

The young tennis prodigy had stopped walking, and was watching some tennis players play in the street courts. They had an odd number of people, so they couldn't play fairly; one team would have the advantage over the other. As he watched them fight it out, Ryoma had a serious expression on his face.

"Marui-senpai…" He held Marui's gaze, as if readying himself to say something; his mouth opened briefly, and he paused contemplatively, but then his expression flickered, and he changed his mind, dropping his gaze instead.

"…No, it's nothing."

Marui raised his brow. It certainly didn't sound like nothing to him. Still, judging from the expression on Ryoma's face, pushing him to tell him wouldn't yield any good results either.

Should he wait for Ryoma to tell him…? Or force him…?

He settled with running a hand through Ryoma's emerald locks, smiling fondly as the other looked up at him with an embarrassed and confused expression.

"If anything's happened, don't hesitate to tell me. I'll always be there to back you up." Marui told him softly, and an adorable flush crept across Ryoma's face. Ryoma nodded shyly, before giving him one of his breathtaking smiles.

"Thank you, Marui-senpai."

The pair parted later after Marui dropped Ryoma off at his house, saying that it was dangerous for a cute boy to roam the streets in the evening. Ryoma had pouted, saying that he wasn't a girl, but Marui just laughed, before heading home himself.

* * *

"I'm home..." Ryoma said to no one in particular, as he pulled off his shoes and socks and stepped into the house. His feet hurt from practice today, as much as he wouldn't admit it, so he went upstairs and placed his bag onto the floor, before sinking down into his bed gratefully.

It had been a long but fun day, and although there was a contented feeling nestling inside of him, somewhere from the back of his mind, a nagging thought surfaced, making him let out a long, drawn out sigh.

A soft beeping sound emitted from his phone, and he checked unread mail, his expression getting stonier with every word he read.

There was a soft meowing sound, and he felt something furry touch his cheek lightly. He rolled over to the side, and scooped Karupin up, before cuddling her to his chest. For once, Karupin didn't struggle. Instead, she meowed empathetically before curling up comfortably beside him.

"Karupin…" Ryoma mumbled, his eyes fluttering close, then…

"Marui-senpai…"

* * *

**And yep. Someone has been texting both Marui and Ryoma. Who knows who it is... Care to hazard a guess? xD **

**Also, Jackal is now completely traumatized and is probably very much afraid of Momoshiro. ****I know, I know... I'm sure I probably scared you guys with the last chapter as well. ****Please; no more bathroom-confession scenes, right? Haha!**

**I'm already working on the next chapter, so I'm hoping that I can throw my schoolwork aside (okay... I can't, really, but one can always dream) and finish it already!**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

I didn't expect to update so quickly (for my standards anyway, ahaha), but I was up last night writing this because I couldn't sleep! Of course, I feel like a zombie right now, but... at least we're one step towards more Marui x Ryoma lovin' eh?

Thank you to **Tearful Shadows**, **Ciel D'or Serendipite**, **poisson**, **Tiger723**,** iKitsuNeko**, **FranscoiseLaraLapis**, **Joey Ketail** and **Bi Sis of 8** for your lovely, supportive reviews! I find myself grinning to myself in class when I think about your reviews, ehehe. It's like a barrier between me and the teacher's dronings, y' know? :D IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC!

OHHH, and thank you **Tearful Shadows, ****Tiger723, ****iKitsuNeko **and **FranscoiseLaraLapis** for reviewing loads of times! I love you guys so much, come here and let me give you a kiss! T_T Please!

Alright, anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

Marui fiddled with his cell phone wistfully, his brows furrowing slightly as he stared at the slightly flickering screen.

There hadn't been any new messages from Ryoma for the past week, which was a record in itself. Usually, they would message each other a few times daily to check up on their progress in tennis, if they were feeling well, or whenever they wanted to eat lunch out together.

Was he busy…?

Admittedly, Marui hadn't been able to message Ryoma as much as he'd wanted for the past week, due to the suddenly rigorous training menu forced upon them by their heartless vice-captain. He swore that he'd caught a sadistic gleam of satisfaction in Sanada's eyes as he watched their team do their allotted 1000 push-ups. After their hellish training, Marui had all but passed out on the couch after taking a shower, and he hadn't had the time to think of anything else.

A hint of doubt wormed itself into Marui's heart, making his heart throb slightly. Maybe Ryoma had stopped contacting him because Marui had?

Maybe it had been because he hadn't texted Ryoma for a while, because he felt unusually anxious. And so he stood there, his phone drawn out, palms still sweating slightly from the vigorous exercise he had just endured.

But his mind continued to draw up nothing but blanks. He couldn't imagine in the slightest how he was supposed to start this conversation. As he stood around, his eyebrows knitted in seriousness, he didn't even realize when Jackal strolled by, openly observing the empty message over his shoulder. Without any warning, Jackal tutted into his ear, making him jump reflexively.

"Wah! Jackal!" He cried out, spinning around quickly to hide the name of the recipient on his phone. 'Ryoma' shone brightly on the top of his screen. Damn, it would be bad to flash that name around here, especially with Sanada watching.

Jackal shook his head, chuckling, as if he had already seen who he was messaging, and that Marui's attempts to hide it were nothing but futile.

"So, I'll take it that you haven't been seeing that Seigaku rookie for quite a while," Jackal remarked, patting his doubles partner on the shoulder.

Marui's shoulders drooped slightly in depression. Jackal however, didn't seem to be mocking him, so he simply nodded quietly in response.

"We've been so busy with practice that it just sort of… slipped my mind…" he mumbled almost inaudibly. Anyone could see how dejected he was, but Jackal couldn't blame him. The practice Yukimura had dished out the past week was almost like torture, to the point where even he, one of the more resilient players on the team, was having a hard time simply catching up with schoolwork when practice ended.

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Not for Echizen to text you first, surely," Jackal scoffed, shaking his head at the thought of Ryoma taking the initiative. Not possible.

Marui bit his lip and stared down at his phone again, typing a few keys into it before erasing it again. "Ahh! I can't do it!" Marui groaned, snapping his phone shut again. "But I have to! These kinds of things always snowball into something scarier in the end!" He opened the phone again, before sighing loudly. "But I just can't!"

Marui had half a mind to throw his cell phone onto the net and perform his famed Tightrope Walking with it before Jackal snatched it out of his hands.

"Ugh, give it here, you're being annoying," Jackal muttered. He immediately began to press a few keys on his phone, making Marui freeze in shock, before leaping in action.

"Hey, give it back!" Marui leapt towards Jackal, hissing like a cat with its claws extended. Jackal took three steps back and raised his cell phone out of his reach, flashing him an amused smile.

"Well, just hold on for a little, Bunta," he attempted to calm him down, while he pressed multiple buttons on his phone expertly. Marui renewed his efforts to grab the phone back, inwardly cursing the height advantage Jackal had over him.

"W-Wait! What are you going to-" he cried out in panic as Jackal clicked something that looked suspiciously like a send button.

"And I'm done." Jackal grinned, tossing the cell phone back to Marui, who caught it with unsteady hands. He glared up at his doubles partner, his expression radiating silent fury.

"What... did... you... do...?" He demanded, gritting his teeth. Jackal shrugged and smiled in an almost annoying fashion. It was an oddly knowing look.

The empty cell phone screen didn't reveal anything, so he quickly changed to his message screen, where he checked his inbox and sent messages with a few flicks of his finger. Right at the top of the top of his latest sent messages was something he definitely hadn't typed himself.

He went pale with apprehension, and slowly, he selected the message and opened it, waiting with bated breath as it loaded. As the message Jackal had sent to Ryoma loaded, his eyes went wide, and Jackal read the message over his shoulder proudly.

_"Good afternoon, my dearest Ryoma-chan! What are you doing on a fantastically romantic day like this? Let's go on a date soon!"_

Jackal chuckled happily at the sight of Marui's trembling shoulders. "Bunta, you don't really have to be that touched. I know, I'm your doubles partner after all! Doing this is a natural course of action-"

"Like hell it is!" Marui snapped, stomping his foot on the ground. He was being childish, he knew, but this was Ryoma they were talking about! The only person he had wanted to impress so badly, even more than the time he had cooked a boiled egg in front of his mom for the first time! Yes! Ryoma was just that important to him, and Jackal... He shot a glare at his doubles partner, who was either clueless or superbly good at acting... Jackal had definitely ruined his chances with Ryoma! He'd think that he acted super girly in messages and refuse to hang out with him anymore!

Come to think of it... He didn't really think it was true but there was a very real possibility... Did Jackal actually type like that on a daily basis? …Damn, it was a good thing they weren't texting buddies. He'd have gotten a serious migraine in the first five minutes they conversed on the phone.

"Like I said, what's wrong, Bunta?" Jackal sighed for the umpteenth time, still leaning over and gazing at the phone sadly. "I mean, I just helped you ask Echizen out in a really romantic manner, right?"

Marui's eyes widened in disbelief. This was romantic?! He wasn't being fooled around with?

He gazed at his partner seriously, noticing with a tinge of horror that Jackal looked genuinely clueless, and sighed loudly. "It's okay, Jackal. It's okay if you don't know. You'll be much better off this way. Ignorance is bliss and all that."

Jackal's horrified reply was cut off by Marui's phone, which vibrated silently in his palm.

Marui paled, zoning out from his surroundings immediately. Jackal's voice faded off into the background as he slowly checked his cell phone screen.

One new message... from Ryoma. And there was no subject title. How ominous.

Oh no. He was really beginning to feel the fear overtaking him now.

Slowly, he clicked the message. Please don't be angry, Ryoma! He prayed inwardly, closing his eyes.

_"Who are you? You're not Marui-senpai. That's creepy."_

For a moment, he stared at the message. Then slowly, he began to laugh softly, before it grew even worse, and he had to lean onto the wall for support, tears of mirth in his eyes.

"Hahaha! Look at this, Jackal!" He showed the screen to his partner, who narrowed his eyes and looked faintly annoyed.

"What does he mean by 'creepy'? I put all of my manly spirit in that message too!"

Manly spirit. In a way, that was kind of disturbing and creepy as well.

"Well anyway, I should..." He was going to reply Ryoma's message, but before his finger had reached the button, a familiar, loud and terrifying voice reached his ears.

"What are the two of you doing? Get back to practice this instant!" Sanada, for of course it was him, stood from afar, his arms crossed as he surveyed them with narrowed eyes.

Marui and Jackal flinched, the former discreetly trying to hide his cell phone somewhere, before Sanada spoke up again.

"Marui... What are you doing with your phone?" His tone was cold and stiff, showing that any attempt to lie to him would be unforgivable. Jackal, who already had his tennis racket in hand, stood there awkwardly, his gaze flickering to meet Marui's for a split second.

Sanada didn't even have to turn around to know that Jackal was still standing there, waiting for his partner. "Jackal, go and run some laps. There is no need for you to stay here any longer, is there?"

"Ah... Yes, of course." Jackal said hesitantly, shooting Marui another worried glance before he set off for the courts.

"So?" Sanada pushed for an answer, his impenetrable gaze pinning Marui to the ground.

"Uh... I..." He stuttered, not really knowing what he was about to say. He couldn't say that he was texting Ryoma after all...

... Not after Sanada had warned him numerous times in his rather threatening text messages.

Before he could think of something to say, there was a loud, grating laughter near the courts, just loud enough for Sanada to hear.

"Ahaha, Sanada-buchou isn't here, so we can rest for a little! Man, I was so pooped out from training!"

Holy. Marui instantly felt sorry for the figure who was standing there. Those curly locks looked familiar.

Sanada turned rigid as his gaze moved away slowly from Marui, and locked onto his new target. He had already begun to move almost soundlessly, a look of utter displeasure set on his features.

"We'll continue this later," he told Marui over his shoulder, before he continued to stride towards the courts. A deadly whisper escape his lips, making Marui shudder in fear for the poor target. "Akaya..."

Oh... Now that he said it... Marui looked over at the courts as well. That black, curly hair... Yep. It was Kirihara Akaya. A surge of compassion swept through his heart as he pondered on what would happen to his poor junior. Still, Kirihara had unsuspectingly saved him, so be owed him an apology later on.

Tucking his cell phone back into his the deep crevices of his bag, Marui set off to the courts as well, swerving to avoid any possible eye contact with Sanada.

He'd reply Ryoma later, he smiled to himself, already planning out his message.

* * *

Ryoma stared at the message he had received from Marui's cell phone. It was the first text he had received in a while, so he had opened it quickly, a small smile already on his lips... until he read the first line. Or rather, the whole message. The smile dropped off as quickly as it had appeared.  
_  
"Good afternoon, my dearest Ryoma-chan! What are you doing on a fantastically romantic day like this? Let's go on a date soon!"_

Man. It didn't look like it had been written by a sane person at all, much less Marui-senpai, who he now looked up to.

Well, it had his number and everything, but that was the only thing that fit. If he hadn't had Marui as his contact, he would've thought the message was sent by a perverted stalker or something.

And what was this 'Ryoma-chan?' It sent a nasty, tingling feeling up his spine and he shuddered involuntarily.

This was clearly the work of someone else. Who was close enough to Marui for him to use his phone without him knowing...?

His first thought was Jackal, but he immediately scrapped the idea from his mind. There was no way Kuwahara-san would do something as girly as this!

... Girly?

As far as he knew, Marui was pretty good looking, so it wasn't far-fetched to think that it was a girl doing this... right?

His heart sank as he dwelled on that particular train of thought. He shook his head lightly. No point worrying about it.

What should he reply...? Well, he thought it was creepy, so...

Smirking slightly, he sent his reply and waited, wondering if he would receive a reply.

Still, the message had said something about a date... right? Ryoma felt his cheeks grow slightly warmer.

A date with Marui-senpai...

"Echizen, let's go to get burgers again!" Momoshiro was back, a broad smile on his face. He was in high spirits now that Ryoma hadn't been out with Marui for the past week. Maybe it was over between them. Hah! Too bad for you, pink-haired bastard! He grinned triumphantly in his mind.

Ryoma didn't reply right away though, he was staring at the phone he had in his hand, just like he had a few weeks ago, when he was messaging someone, most probably Marui. Momoshiro's smile faltered slightly.

"Ah, Momo-senpai," Ryoma, finally realizing that Momoshiro was looming above him. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and picked up his tennis bag.

"Sure, let's go." Ryoma nodded at his friend, and they walked off together.

He had gotten back into his routine of having lunch with the power player, and although it was still fairly enjoyable, he realized that he couldn't help missing Marui. It was a lonely feeling. Still, Marui seemed to be busy for the past week, for he hasn't sent a single message. Likewise, Ryoma didn't send him any as well, thinking that it would be bad to distract him from whatever he was doing.

Still, he had received a message now. Not from Marui, hopefully (he didn't want to think that the girly messaging style belonged to the senior he looked up to), but he now had the perfect excuse to message him! It was going to be a good day.

Momoshiro quickly schooled his emotions into that of friendliness, masking the hostility which had been building up within him the moment he saw Ryoma's phone.

How he wished to crush that tiny device in the palm of his hand.

With that last ominous thought, he followed the unsuspecting Ryoma, smiling at the appropriate times as they discussed what they would have for lunch.

Yeah. He had to get rid of the bug soon, or he wouldn't be able to get Ryoma.

The sooner, the better.

* * *

**Congratulations to the person who guessed that it was Sanada! 'Cause you're absolutely right! :D That's actually only for Marui though, since Sanada doesn't know Ryoma's phone number (lol).**

**Anyway, I was listening to the Yandere Heaven Black drama CD, (the BL version of course! xD) and I wrote this chapter after that... So maybe Momoshiro might be turning a little yandere over here... Uhoh. I didn't mean to do it, really! Oh well. They say that cheerful people are hidden killers and all that! (That excludes you and me, of course, HAHA)**

**If you're upset about the lack of Marui and Ryoma interactions in this chapter, don't worry! I AM TOO! They'll be in the next chapter, don't worry :)**

**Don't forget to review! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


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